The Bobcat Nation

Since this is a slow period in Bobcat athletics I thought I would post some workout tips for anyone interested. Since some of my comments are not main stream I have posted explanations for them at the end.

1. Do not have a workout partner (1)
2. NEVER EVER use a spotter for any excersize at any weight (2)
3. Never where a belt for any excersize (3)
4. Never use a Smith machine except for Shrugs or fast twitch bench (4)
5. Never use a pad on your back when squatting (5)
6. Number one rule in the gym is Maximum Intensity
7. Decline bench is an ego excersize that serves little purpose (6)
8. Never pyramid up! (7)
9. Rep Ranges:
1-3: Power/Strength 4-6: Strength and size 7-8: size and shaping 8-10: shaping 10+: pumping blood

Pumping blood can be useful: Last set and also the following day. For example; the day after heavy chest I do 100 reps on the bench to pump blood. Those nutrients help me recover so I can bench again in 6-7 days.

Always start every workout with a CORE excersize:

Chest: Flat barebell or incline barebell (No dumbells and NO decline)
Trcep: Lockouts or narrow grip bench (skull crushers occasionaly)
Bicep: Standing barebell or camber bar curls
Back: Dead lift, 45 deg bent rows or cable rows
Traps: Barebell shrugs (no dumbell)
Shoulders: Standing barebell or standing dumbell (no seated presses)
Legs: Box squats, reg squats, hack squats

Do accessory excersizes after the core excersize(s) is complete.

(1) No two people should have the exact same workout plan or will progress at the same rate. Having a workout partner will at some point hold you back.
(2) Spotters lower your intensity (human nature), spotters encourage bad form, no spotter can perfectly control his motion so you have no idea if you are getting stronger or how many reps YOU can do. Never unrack a weight you can't do and never do a forced rep. I used to belong to an elite lifting group in MN. Of the eight of us all were rated in the top ten in the US, 2 were US record holders and 2 benched well over 700 lbs. In two years in that group I only saw one missed rep and that was because a guys tricep tore off while benching 685. Bottom line: If you are using a spotter you are stroking your ego and you should be wearing a skirt when lifting.
(3)Research has shown that belts do NOTHING to protect your body. They make it hard to breath and give you a false sense of security. Yes the big guys wear them but not for the reasons you think. They have learned the art of pushing against the belt to move more weight and it keeps their lifting suit in place. If you are wering a belt you will look like an idiot.
(4)To many reasons to list. Oh and what ever you lift on the smith machine take off 25% to equate it to free weights.
(5) The bar needs to be as far back as possible on your back. Can't do that with a pad.
(6) Strickly a lift for your ego that has little benefit.
(7) You want to be at your strongest at your highest weight for that day. If you pyramid up you will be at your weakest.

Last Item: Warm up by doing as many warm up sets as you can without effecting your strength or endurance.

When I bench I do 10 reps with the bar, 8 at 95 lbs., 7 at 135, 6 at 225, 4 at 315, 2 at 365, 1 at 405 and then I start.

Good Luck!

gtapp wrote: In two years in that group I only saw one missed rep and that was because a guys tricep tore off while benching 685.

Did that happen to be this guy? (click on the link):

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Good advice. I'm a cyclist which makes me light years apart from weight lifters, but but I've found that training on your own is very important for the same reasons you posted.

I recently joined Crossfit a really high intensity type of workouts. Works on strength, speed, stamina and lots more.

http://crossfithelena.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I disagree with Nos. 1,2 & 3 and here's why:

1) Working out with a partner can also help you push yourself through the workout. If you keep your workout varied, it is inevitable that either of you will be better at certain exercises or lifts, thus enabling the ability for you to push eachother beyond your limits.

2) Spotters are very important in learning how to weight lift. More times than not, a person that's just learning to lift needs that spotter there to guide the person in the lift. I can see the reasoning in eliminating the spotter after one has become developed into a seasoned lifter, but to say a spotter is never needed is somewhat of an oversight to lifting IMO.

3) This goes back to learning how to properly lift. When I was in high school and we were learning how to properly clean & jerk, I feel that lifting belts were imperative in keeping the lower back supported while developing these muscles.

Now if you post was mainly geared towards the seasoned lifter, I apologize for throwing in these opinions, but I have a feeling that you post probably will encourage some people to get back into the gym and start lifting again as it is definitely a fun and challenging thing to do multiple times a week.

Also the right mix of anabolic steroids and HGH really help.

Fun topic Gtapp, thanks for the advice.

I agree with everything except for the break down in rep ranges. I am a firm believer that the rep range really doesn’t matter much, what does matter is intensity. Moving the weight to failure is key. I subscribe to the High Intensity Training philosophy outlined by Dr Ken leistner. The mainstay of such a program is 20 rep squats. Obviously, powerlifters need to do singles to demonstrate strength but to develop strength there is disagreement about rep ranges. Lots of strength coaches like Dr Ken believe it’s just a matter of intensity.

I like your suggestions for muscle group exercises.

I don’t think the lifting partner or spotter makes any difference, it all boils down to your intensity during workouts, rest and nutrition.

I like what you said about the lifting belt. It helps lifters move more weight because they can develop more pressure in their abdomen, so they have their place when doing doubles and singles. I also don’t like squat suits, bench shirts and knee wraps. They aid in lifting more weight not in making the sport safer IMHO.

Here are my tips: take them for what they are worth
1. Do squats and deadlifts on the same day since there is so much overlap in muscle groups it will give you more recovery time in between lifts. Only do one work set of squats and deadlifts per session. For instance here is a squat example 10 X 135, 3 X 225, 1 X 275, 10-20 X 315. Pour it all into your work set push ‘til you eat the last rep..A set of deadlifts after that may make you puke.
2. Don’t force deadlifts to failure; shut it down when your form breaks down.
3. For deadlifts alternate sumo and conventional style even if you are bad at one or the other. One week do conventional, the next week do sumo, It will help your strength.
4. Think fewer sets with more intensity. Stick with squats, deadlifts and maybe some presses, stay away from the skill lifts like power cleans. It is easy to injure yourself doing those and they are not the best way to build strength.

speaking of working out here is an article I just read.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/trainin ... ight-wrong" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TIrwin24 wrote:I disagree with Nos. 1,2 & 3 and here's why:

1) Working out with a partner can also help you push yourself through the workout. If you keep your workout varied, it is inevitable that either of you will be better at certain exercises or lifts, thus enabling the ability for you to push eachother beyond your limits.

2) Spotters are very important in learning how to weight lift. More times than not, a person that's just learning to lift needs that spotter there to guide the person in the lift. I can see the reasoning in eliminating the spotter after one has become developed into a seasoned lifter, but to say a spotter is never needed is somewhat of an oversight to lifting IMO.

3) This goes back to learning how to properly lift. When I was in high school and we were learning how to properly clean & jerk, I feel that lifting belts were imperative in keeping the lower back supported while developing these muscles.

Now if you post was mainly geared towards the seasoned lifter, I apologize for throwing in these opinions, but I have a feeling that you post probably will encourage some people to get back into the gym and start lifting again as it is definitely a fun and challenging thing to do multiple times a week.

Good post. Yes, geared mostly to lifters with greater than 2 years experience. The only exception is the spotting comment. I tell beginners to stay away because it gets addicting. You ALWAYS lift more when a guy holds the bar (not all spotters do this but most do).

wbtfg wrote:Also the right mix of anabolic steroids and HGH really help.

The steroids can always keep you in the gym by improving recovery time but I have never been a fan of HGH. HGH is really an aging drug and while a few lifters like it with their steroids by itself it does absolutely nothing!

seataccat wrote:Fun topic Gtapp, thanks for the advice.

I agree with everything except for the break down in rep ranges. I am a firm believer that the rep range really doesn’t matter much, what does matter is intensity. Moving the weight to failure is key. I subscribe to the High Intensity Training philosophy outlined by Dr Ken leistner. The mainstay of such a program is 20 rep squats. Obviously, powerlifters need to do singles to demonstrate strength but to develop strength there is disagreement about rep ranges. Lots of strength coaches like Dr Ken believe it’s just a matter of intensity.

I like your suggestions for muscle group exercises.

I don’t think the lifting partner or spotter makes any difference, it all boils down to your intensity during workouts, rest and nutrition.

I like what you said about the lifting belt. It helps lifters move more weight because they can develop more pressure in their abdomen, so they have their place when doing doubles and singles. I also don’t like squat suits, bench shirts and knee wraps. They aid in lifting more weight not in making the sport safer IMHO.

Here are my tips: take them for what they are worth
1. Do squats and deadlifts on the same day since there is so much overlap in muscle groups it will give you more recovery time in between lifts. Only do one work set of squats and deadlifts per session. For instance here is a squat example 10 X 135, 3 X 225, 1 X 275, 10-20 X 315. Pour it all into your work set push ‘til you eat the last rep..A set of deadlifts after that may make you puke.
2. Don’t force deadlifts to failure; shut it down when your form breaks down.
3. For deadlifts alternate sumo and conventional style even if you are bad at one or the other. One week do conventional, the next week do sumo, It will help your strength.
4. Think fewer sets with more intensity. Stick with squats, deadlifts and maybe some presses, stay away from the skill lifts like power cleans. It is easy to injure yourself doing those and they are not the best way to build strength.

Deadlifts should only be done every other week at most and maybe every 3rd week. At westside barebell you never deadlifted except during competition. They did accessories but not actual deadlift. Deadlift done very light can be done weekly. I would not combine deadlift with anything. Squats can be combined with other leg movements. Your right about form: I had terrible deadlift form and finally my back gave out. Never did them again. I don't Like suits and wraps either. Knee wraps add 50-75 lbs of lift. Try sleeves. I had a bench shirt but never learned the proper form (it can take years). The newest shirts are providing 300 lbs of extra lift. WOW!

The ideal lifting form is pictured here. Anything more is purely for show:

I'll take the properly formed blonde in picture 2 for $1000 Alex

Why no dumbells I thought using dumbells encouraged proper form and developed stabilizer muscles.

I personally prefer kettlebells

Hey Gary! Good tips! I am, however, going to offer some praise for the use of a Smith machine, and here's why. I used to be a pretty decent lifter, until a few years ago when I broke the scaphoid (or navicular) bone in my left hand in a fall. This particular bone is quite vital in the use and operation of not only the entire wrist, but also the arm. Proper healing is important, and very long. My left arm was casted over the elbow for 12 weeks. Fortunately, I did not need surgery.

Of course once out of the cast, the was alot of muscle atrophy and that took time to heal. But one thing I found painful was the positioning of my wrist under a barbell on a flat bench. Everything was fine until I made the move to push the bar from the bench. The pain was excruciating! I tried and tried, but for weeks experienced much pain lifting again. And then I tried the Smith machine. Maybe it was psychological, or maybe it was because the angle that the bar was coming off the rack was different, I'm not sure. All I know is that there was no pain! I have been a fan of the Smith machine ever since, as it got me back to doing flat bench.

A lot of good comments already, and good thread. I will add this..most of the techniques listed above are for more advanced lifters and not beginners or the average Joe. A good workout for the newby just wanting to get toned or better shape is an all around lift. in other words hit all major body areas each workout, but fewer sets. Do 1-2 sets per muscle group with each set 10-12 reps. The weight should be light to begin with but add each session until a 12 rep set gets fatigue by the last rep. Most people dont get to the gym more than 2-3Xs a week so that leaves plenty of time for rest. Each workout should include a warmup and cooldown on treadmill or ellipticle

canyoncat wrote:I recently joined Crossfit a really high intensity type of workouts. Works on strength, speed, stamina and lots more.

http://crossfithelena.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Love my crossfit gym Alternative Athletics in Billings. I was never a person that liked to workout and never did but got tired of feeling and looking like a couch potato. Crossfit got me hooked. The workouts are unique and very difficult working all areas of your body and stamina. I would encourage anyone to try it from all levels of athletic ability.

personally prefer kettlebells

I prefer kettle corn.

For a dedicated, already fit, person I might agree with your #1, but since most people need tips just to get into working out and keep going I disagree. I think for everyone but those seriously training for something having a workout partner is an extremely good motivator. I've gone through times of having a workout buddy and not and I'd much rather have someone to put the time in with.

My biggest workout tip I give is "even when you don't feel like working out, just get ready and go for 5 or 10 minutes. If you're still not feeling it then, go ahead and quit." It's not so bad thinking of just 5-10 minutes and likely once you've started your going to finish the workout. I still occasionally take the advice myself, some days it's just not working.